Most of the young girls Boko Haram uses as suicide bombers in Nigeria and neighbouring countries are probably unaware that they will be blown up, Leila Zerrougui, UN’s secretary-general’s special representative on children and armed conflict, has stated.
Zerrougui lamented that the use of children as human bombs is one of the worst manifestations of an increasingly blatant disregard for the safety and security of minors in conflict situations around the world.
According to her the children used in this way were in many cases not aware of what they were about to do.
“Many of them don’t know that they will be blown up with remote devices,” she told reporters, pointing out many of the girls are as young as 11 or 12.“I personally doubt that the children know,” Zerrougui said, adding that security forces had informed the UN that the bombs are often set off remotely.“That means that it is not the person herself who did it,” she said.
The Boko Haram sect has orchestrated many bomb attacks in Nigeria and neighboring countries, which have left thousands of people dead.